Hey everyone. I’d like to add a couple apple trees to my zone 7a South eastern Pennsylvania yard. Obviously looking for two trees that can pollinate one another. Hoping to get one tree that would be good for baking and apple sauces. I’d like the other tree to be good for fresh eatting but also store well. From my reading it seems like some apples need to be stored for a while to get the best flavor. Is there an apple that taste great freshly picked but also taste great after being stored for a while ? Any input is helpful. I’d also like something you don’t typically see in the grocery stores. Disease resistance is important but also with only two trees I’d be willing to put in more effort to something that needs a little more care than an easier to grow tree.
Have you seen this list?
I haven’t made sauce with them, but Karmijn de Sonnaville ticks a couple of your boxes: great fresh eating, reasonably good storage/good flavor, and good baker. And you won’t find it in grocery stores yet. I haven’t had disease issues but it can be prone to corking. Even if you don’t devote a tree to it you should at least have a limb or two.
As for pollination, that might not be that much of an issue if you’re within a 1/2 mile or so of other apple trees. And if you care to, grafting another compatible variety on your trees can turn the trick as well.
For pure culinary purposes; the English have the most superb apples.From whole baked, chunky apple sauce, smooth puree, tarts, pies. Just a lot of superb; ultra long keeping Apples. Reverend Wilkes, Blenheim Orange. Crimson Peasgood, Peasgood Nonsuch, Annie Elizabeth, Beauty of Kent, Charles Ross. The various “Biffin/Beefing”{baking] apples. The Coddlins.
We will be starting Norfolk Beefing from Charles Dickens fame this year.
My best for baking is Cortland also stores much longer into springtime in my garage than all others; wife still using for strudels. It also keeps its crispness and does not turn to mush when baked like so many others, excellent eating right off the tree in Early Nov here and since it holds it crispness as it ripens in storage, what more can you ask. My best for all purposes is King of the Pippins, absolutely cannot be beaten. It could ultimately after another year of testing become out total favorite. My second best for cooking is Chehalis, second best for eating is Tomkins King.
Dennis
Kent, wa
I think you need to supply us with more information. Do you like sweet apples, sweet/tart apples or tart apples for fresh eating? Are there commercial apples you like the taste of like Jonathan, Honeycrisp and Golden Delicious or something else? There are hundreds of different types of apple trees readily available and if you include rarer apple trees-thousands. If we knew your taste preferences we could narrow down the list a bit.
Do you have any experience with fruit trees?
Are you willing to spray the tree with insecticides and fungicides? Or are you willing to bag apples and or spray Surround ( a type of clay) to keep insects at bay? Disease resistance is useful even if you spray the trees and even more important if you spray little or not at all. Some of the better tasting apples actually have good disease resistance.
Folks from Richmond VA to Albany NY should be able to give you better suggestions as to varieties that perform in your area.
I’m in a completely different climate. so can’t comment on specific suggestions or disease resistance for you.
Although i like karmijn de sonnaville and Reine des Reinettes (probably not the best disease resistance). That others suggested. Both are good eating and good cooking.
A cultivar that’s good for baking/sauce. There are relatively many of those.
to many “demands” probably best to pick 1-2 that are important and 1-2 other traits that are allowed to be “medium”
Currently your asking for an dessert apple that:
-good for eating straight of the tree, no storage needed for best flavor.
-long storage
-great taste (both pre and after storage)
-something different from what you typically see in the store
-disease resistance
That’s quite a list of demands of a single cultivar. Unfortunately there are no apples that are “the best or great” on every property.
Apples that store really long, aren’t great fresh of the tree. And apples that are great fresh of the tree, usually don’t store that long.
Same for disease resistance and “best taste” it’s really hard to find an apple that excels at both.
So the way i look at it, it’s best to look at what properties really matter. Or go for a tree with multiple varieties grafted on it. (you would likely have to graft it yourself. And pruning is slightly harder)
How long is long storage? What tastes good to you?
How long is long storage to you? 1 month? or 6 months?
Do you store apples in a rootceller or something? Or do you want them to last long at room temp?
How important is taste (the absolute longest storing apples mostly have “medium” taste to me. The early-mid winter apples often great taste.)
another option would be to go for a long storing cooking apple. That tastes medium-good after a long store as a dessert apple. And can be used for cooking before that. And get a fall/winter apple that tastes great of the tree. but only stores a medium amount of time.
Harvest time
Another thing you might want to consider is harvest time. Longer storage apples here are usually harvested oktober and later. While early summer apples can be eaten of the tree in august/september. Those however rarely store more than 2 weeks.
If your going the grafting multiple varieties route. I suggest to get a single limb of a earlier apple. Of my earlier varieties, i was quite happy with laxtons fortune this year. Although i have no idea how it would do for you. A longer storing apple with great taste (but needs some storage before best taste) for me would be sturmer pippin. It also stays on the tree for a while. I let some hang on the tree into december this year. And they where amazing straight of the tree. (basically stored them on the tree)
Pretty spot on. Like my ultimate plan is to run Pumpkin Sweet, Howgate Wonder, Annie Elizabeth for my year round supply of very large cooking apples. I can fill in the May June gap with Anna .
There are lots of great suggestions here.
First, let me add a note of caution. You should probably not select a triploid variety, even though there are many great choices (e.g., Ashmead’s Kernel). Triploids will not pollinate other varieties.
Second, let me mention a sentimental favorite. Enterprise is one of the original disease resistant varieties (though there can be some diseases and there will be bigs). I love the flavor. The only negative is that the skin is tough. It’s a late ripener and stores really well.
You might look at Pennsylvania heirloom apples like York Imperial and Smokehouse. Summer Rambo, multiple uses, isn’t PA but I find huge specimens on old estates here in Maryland. And, yes, Stallone’s “Rambo” got his name from this apple.
An old friend of mine raved about PA apple Winter Sweet Paradise. If you graft you could make a PA Frankentree.
Are you in town? Don’t neighbors have flowering crab apple trees? If so, you already have pollinators.
Yes, it’s true that different apple trees bloom at different times, but it’s also true that most apple trees bloom at nearly the same time. Your microclimate will have more influence on bloom time than variety does. I live on the shore of a large inland lake. One day, the wind shifts, and summer arrives. On that day, all the apple trees bloom at once, so I just don’t see the problem.
If you discover — down the road — that you have a pollination problem, you probably can fix it by branch grafting a pollinator variety — perhaps a crab apple.
As for choosing varieties to plant, I recommend attending a fruit-tree grafting seminar at the local branch campus of your state’s Land Grant College. Consult your County Extension Agent for details. Such events typically include a free scion exchange. You don’t have to bring anything. Backyard orchardists (and probably a few commercial nurseries) in your area will provide a vast array of cuttings and brag about what works for them. This is your opportunity to gather hyper-local advice. You may even be able to buy bench grafts prepared on the day. It’s a good time. Have fun!
Some great input here. I am going to check out the list mentioned and also do some reading on all apples mentioned. I see a couple people mentioned grafting different apples to one tree. It had crossed my mind but I didn’t go down that fox hole. It sounds intimidating but may be worth reading into for someone like myself who doesn’t have a ton of space. Any recommended reads or videos or grafting ?
i have a bunch of links in this topic.
But i think
would be a great start.
If you wanna learn a little more after
is awesome. Some of his grafting video’s are on his car channel (link in the topic linked earlier)
It’s also worth searching on this site. There are hundreds of discussions. And apple trees are a great place to start. Lots of people here who can answer your questions.
Good info, thanks for the links.
My two favorite apples happen to offer pollen to each other, have huge flavor when picked, keep quite long relative to their harvest times, have no disease issues here (where disease pressure is low & cedar-apple rust is unknown) & have plenty of potential in the kitchen. Lamb Abbey Pearmain comes ripe around August 25 for me, while GoldRush comes ripe around October 16.
Lamb Abbey is enjoyed north of you in Vermont, so might work in your situation. If CAR is rampant in your area, then instead of GoldRush check into Sundance. (I had Sundance planted last spring, but gophers got the root recently. Will try again.)
Second the motion on Sundance- great taste, disease free here in Md so far, even clean during last year’s historic fire blight storm.